Losing Normal
by supernaturalbuffy
Summary: He just seemed so...young...and normal. And Dean just couldn't help but watch. Besides, if there was something he needed to stop, he would need to know every little detail of his Dad's life. Wouldn't he? Missing scene from episode "In the Begining".


**Losing Normal**

_A/N: This story was written for the KazCon (2009) fanfiction contest. It also appeared in the con zine _To Hell and Back_._

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"I told you. You have to stop it," Castiel said without inflection and Dean just wanted to roll his eyes.

"Stop what? What...is there something nasty after my dad?"

The screeching of tires and honking horns made Dean start and he turned to see two cars barely miss each other. Letting out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, he turned back but of course he was _gone_.

Dean cursed under his breath. "Oh, come on. Are you allergic to straight answers you son of a bitch?!" Looking around again in frustration, he buried his hands in his pockets and took out after his dad again.

_Man_, Dean's mind reeled at even the thought of it. _That young kid was his father?_

The seasoned, tough as nails, military man that had made demons afraid of him was now…nothing more than just a kid with his whole life ahead of him. Not a care in the world…or even a _thought_ about what might actually lurk in the dark of night.

"God, he's a freakin' sittin' duck," Dean muttered under his breath and quickened his pace. Not realizing how far behind he'd gotten, he kind of panicked when he turned the corner and couldn't see any sight of the dark headed man. "Oh no, no, no. No, damn it!" Dean scanned the busy street trying to find the dark head of hair above the crowd but his heart dropped as he realized that it was useless. He was gone.

_Ding…Ding... Beep, beep..._

Wait…he knew that sound. Turning to the right, he noticed a car pulling into a gas station and he stared at the place as something clicked inside Dean's head. Maybe?

A Volkswagon Van was pulled up in front of the pumps, and a smiling man in blue coveralls came out to greet the driver. A sign over the pumps read Red's Gas & Garage.

_Could it be?_

Dean slowly made his way around the building towards the other side and there…standing in the bright sunlight was his father. Dean felt something catch in his chest as he watched his dad, this…young man…laughing and talking with some of the other mechanics in the shop; and he couldn't help but want to get closer.

But knowing that John might become suspicious if he did, he stopped his forward movement across the street. Couldn't let his dad see him hanging around and start to think he might be some kind of wacko now could he? With that in mind, Dean changed his direction and continued casually walking past the open garage sneaking glances and headed towards a little diner across the street.

Continuing to glance back across the street at the garage, Dean hurried inside the door and was greeted by the smell of rich coffee and frying bacon. _Man that smells good. _His stomach gave a sudden growl and he realized that he hadn't had breakfast.

Slipping into a booth near the front window—but also towards the back of the room and facing the front door just like he'd been taught—he took a seat. Looking out the window, he had a perfect view of the garage bay and his dad. Man, t_his is just too weird._

"Can I get you something, honey?" a sweetly drawling voice said beside him and Dean jumped not realizing anybody had gotten that close. "Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie. I thought you knew I was here," a slightly frumpy looking waitress said apologetically with a smile.

"No, that's okay. Just uh…a lot of stuff on my mind I guess. Uh, I'll just take coffee right now, thanks." Without another word he turned back to the window and looked for his dad again. For a moment he panicked because he couldn't see him, but then breathed a sigh of relief as he saw him move alongside one of the cars up on the lift and began to tinker with the undercarriage.

So he _was_ working there. At least now, Dean knew where he would be for a while. Taking a deep breath, he turned back to the diner as the waitress brought him his coffee and gave her a smile. "Thank you. So, Connie, what's good here?"

Connie gave him a little smile—already smitten with him even though he was probably young enough to be her son—and Dean could just imagine the eye-roll that Sam would've given him for that.

"Honey, everything is good. But if I was you…I'd try the pancakes. Earl can make a mean short stack," she said leaning forward like she was telling some big secret.

Dean's smile grew even more and he nodded. "Okay, I'll take that and some eggs and bacon please."

"You got it, sugar," she said giving him another smile as she went.

Dean watched her go and then had a thought. Quickly digging into his wallet, he looked to see how much cash he had breathing a sigh of relief as he saw two twenties starring back at him. Thank goodness for small favors knowing that credit cards would be useless in this day and age. Once again, he turned back to the window and just watched his father work while he sipped his coffee.

It was unreal to see the calm, happy, younger version of his father who talked easily with his co-workers and then think of the deadly hunter that seemed to exude power that his father had become.

But of course, that was after the fire.

This version…this version reminded him of faded memories of his father before the fire. When there was still time for T-ball and family barbeques and laughter. When his dad would race home after work to be with his family and still loved to spend time with his sons. A time when he was just still..._dad. _

Thinking about that now, and how much John had changed made Dean's heart hurt. And sometimes if he was honest with himself that was the main reason he hunted. For what the Demon had taken from them...from him. Not just his family, but also his innocence. Their chance at being _normal,_ and if he had to move Heaven and Hell to stop that from happening again then…

Connie brought him his food and he thanked her with another smile before digging in.

_She was right, these pancakes are great_.

As he ate, he contemplated what Castiel had told him. He had to stop something, but of course the bastard couldn't tell him exactly what that was. But if the 'powers that be' were willing to send him back through time to stop it, then it _had_ to be something really bad. The only question was…what?

Wiping his mouth with a napkin, he pulled out his father's journal. Glancing out the window to make sure John was still working he laid the worn leather book out next to his plate and pulled open the cover. Of course, there was nothing about his father's life before the fire in there, but maybe there was _something_ that might get the gears turning on ideas.

Glancing down at the first page, he noticed the memorabilia stuck within the front flag that basically encompassed everything his dad had kept from before the fire. A few medals and photos that had escaped the flames and Dean couldn't help but run his hand gently across the worn photographs. His father's smiling face next to his mother's and boy weren't they the happy couple. "Man, I wish you were here, Sammy," Dean mumbled quietly and then continued with his search.

_Okay...ghosts, demons, reapers, tricksters...? Now, where to begin?_

As he worked, he'd glance across the street every few minutes before turning back to his father's written words finding it harder and harder to concentrate when his father was just right across the street. As he watched his would-be-father work, he realized he really didn't know much about the man. Besides his obsession with finding his Mom's killer and that he had been in the military before marrying his mom, there really wasn't much else he knew.

And this is what fascinated him.

But right now he had to protect him and try to stop whatever Castiel had warned him about. More than likely, if the angels had sent him back here to stop something then, this probably had something to do with demons. And one yellow-eyed bastard was definitely coming to mind. But if he did stop whatever it was...then where would that leave him? If he went back and it was all...white-picket fence with 2.3 kids...would he still be the same? Or would he change too? Or could it be something else after his dad? And what if he didn't succeed in stopping it? Then would he...

Groaning slightly, he massaged his aching head. "Man, I hate time travel." _Okay, enough of the what-ifs. I gotta concentrate on the now._

Looking back over at the garage, he noticed his dad was talking with one of the other mechanics. It seemed like they were pretty good friends by the way they were laughing and talking. A quick smile and dancing eyes with a head full of dark hair and Dean thought that he reminded him of someone but couldn't remember who.

"Honey, are you waiting for someone?"

Dean turned to see the waitress watching him with a sort of funny look on her face, and Dean suddenly realized that it probably did look a little suspicious the way he kept glancing out the window at the auto shop. "Uh…kind of?" He gave a shy little smile, and he looked back across the street as if he was a little embarrassed about being caught.

"I was uh…actually trying to get up the nerve to go over and ask if they were hiring." He gestured out the window to the garage self-consciously, and the woman's stance softened slightly.

"You needin' a job?" She gave him the once-over and glanced down at the book sitting on the table seeing the medals pinned to the inside cover and an understanding look passed across her face. "I don't think Red's hiring right now, but if you need some work…I'm sure we could find something for you to do around here until you find something more stable."

Dean glanced down at the journal and then up again at the waitress with a slightly confused look.

"How long have you been out?"

_How long... _He frowned slightly and then it dawned on him. "Uh, not too long." He gave her a slight smile and then nodded. "Thanks for the offer, I'll think about it?" he said quietly but with feeling.

She nodded in return and then patted him on the shoulder. "I'm glad to have you boys home," she said with affection before returning to her other customers.

Dean hadn't really thought about it, but her reaction coupled with what the man in the diner had said to John finally made sense now. It was 1973, and soldiers were returning from Vietnam to find that not only had they change, but so had the world.

He had never asked his Dad what it had been like, but he knew that he would get...this haunted look in his eyes sometimes like there were too many memories and not all of them good.

The fact that the people of Lawrence seemed to welcome home their soldiers gladly seemed to hold them in the minority as most of the nation had been up in arms over the whole injustice of the entire war. But of course, people would always welcome home a wayward son. No matter the politics.

Dean shook himself from those deep thoughts and turned back to his research. After a couple more hours, it looked like John was finishing up with the car he had been working on and Dean started to gather his things. It was getting close to noon and he wasn't sure what his Dad would do for lunch.

After paying for his meal, he made sure to thank Connie for her offer and left her a good tip for her kindness. He then hurried out the door and slipped into the alley where he could watch the entryway of Red's hoping that John would come out there. As if his Dad had heard him, John walked out of the garage door waving goodbye to someone deeper inside the shop.

"Hey, John!" the guy John had been joking around with all morning called out as he hurried up to John's retreating form. "You wanna come over to our place this evening for dinner? Kate's suppose to make a meatloaf."

"Sorry, Mike, I got a date," John said with a big smile and started to walk away again.

"What? With Mary again? Dude, why don't you just get it over with and pop the question already?"

John turned so he was walking backwards and just gave Mike big grin. "See you later, Mike." And with that, he turned around and started walking again.

Mike just shook his head and headed back into the shop.

"Mike?" Dean said to himself slightly in shock. As in…his father's business partner? This just kept getting weirder and weirder.

Waiting a few moments to make sure John was far enough ahead he then headed out after the man. They seemed to weave their way through the busy town—up hills and down—until Dean was sure his legs were about to fall off and when John turned another corner, Dean huffed out a tired sigh and hurried to catch up.

Plastic flags billowed in the cool breeze, flapping in a dizzying array of color, as windshields glistened in the mid-day sun over multiple colors of polished metal.

A car dealership? _That's_ where he was headed?

Watching John head into the lot and shake hands with one of the salesmen, Dean sidled along taking in the different classic cars that lined the lot. He admired the lines of a 1970 Mustang Convertible as he watched his dad look at a couple of cars definitely more towards the family orientated line of thinking and almost cringed as he headed towards a Volkswagon Van.

And then he saw her.

"Oh…baby," he breathed and unconsciously started to move towards her. His hand found her tail and slid up her side until he was near the windows and he looked inside the cab to see the cream colored upholstery that looked almost new. The lopsided grin that crossed his lips couldn't be helped. "Man, you look good."

He then saw John less than twenty feet away, looking at the VW van and he _knew_ he had to intervene. This would be one thing he would definitely take pride in saying he made possible.

Leaning against the Impala's hood almost gently, he watched John make his deal. When the salesman walked away, Dean made his move. "It's not the one you want."

John turned and his brows knitted together in slight confusion. "You following me?"

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A/N: Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think by sending a review. I'd really like to hear what you think.


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